Damian Aspinall, a British conservationist, raised a young gorilla named Kwibi since he was an infant at Howletts Wild Animal Park in England.
When Kwibi reached the age of 5, Damian released him into the wild in Gabon, West Africa.
Damian's "Aspinall Foundation" has been releasing captive gorillas back into the wild in West Africa for 10 years.
Five years after Kwibi was released, Damian went back to Gabon to see if he could find his old friend. The short video is very touching!
And that's what's good,
Jon
Cheing Chut, a pastor in Sudan had a heavy weight on his shoulders. He knew he had to protect his family and his congregation from the violence against Christians in Sudan.
Cheing sent his family to the U.S. for protection, while he stayed behind to protect his congregation. Things got worse after 9/11 when the U.S added Sudan to the list of terrorist nations. This made it nearly impossible for Cheing to go to the U.S. to see his family.
All of that changed recently when he finally was able to meet his family at Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport. Cheing, his wife, their six children, and now six grandchildren, had a happy and tearful reunion.
A warm welcome from Chieng's family
'We never thought this day would come,' said daughter Nyahon Chut. 'Praise God.'
And that's what's good,
Jon
The Good World News
Back in November of 2012, Good World News reported on a neat charity called "Free the Children" which is the brainchild of Craig Kielburger.
This charity is proud to honor award winning actress, Natalie Portman, as their ambassador! In her ambassador role, she will support education for girls in Kenya.
“Investing in long term sustainable international development, which includes education, is key to breaking the cycle of poverty,” says Natalie. “As a mother and the organization’s newest ambassador, I am grateful to Free The Children for giving me the opportunity to channel my passion and love of children into meaningful action that furthers the education and leadership of young women for years to come. I hope others join me in supporting this important cause.”
Great job Natalie! We wish you the best in your new role and look forward to great things to come :)
Peace & Love,
Jon
The Good World News
Zambia has become the latest African country to ban hunting of lions and leopards. Individuals once thought that hunting would bring a lot of money to the country, but the $2 million received from hunting is virtually insignificant to the millions they receive from tourism.
'Tourists come to Zambia to see the lion and if we lose the lion we will be killing our tourism industry,' Sylvia Masebo, the Tourism and Arts Minister states.
Regardless of their reasons, it is very good news that they are banning the killing of these beautiful animals. The entire environment is dependent on the balance of life within.
Thank you Zambia!
Peace & Love,
Jon
- The Good World News
Could Kelvin Doe be the next Tony Stark, aka Ironman? Kelvin is a 15 year old self taught prodigy from Sierra Leone.
"I love inventing", Kevin says.
He goes through trash and discarded materials, finds broken parts, and makes his own inventions. The electrical grid in Sierra Leone can be described as spotty at best so Kelvin created his own solution. He made his own battery and created a generator from scrap materials. Then he created an FM transmitter to broadcast his own radio show. DJ Focus is what he calls himself on his now successful radio show.
"People normally call me DJ Focus in my community because I believe if you focus you can do an invention perfectly." Kevin states. "I DJ every day".
David Sengeh runs a summer innovation camp in Sierra Leone. This is where he first met Kelvin. "People listen religiously to his radio station", Sengeh states. He was impressed with Kelvin and arranged for the 15 year old to visit the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a guest resident for 3 weeks. Sengeh wants to see more Kelvins and to start a movement for youths.
With David's help, Kelvin got to spend countless hours in the labs at M.I.T where he had the opportunity to get help from other students and improve his inventions. At M.I.T, Kelvin had access to all the electronics that he needed. "Whatever I have learned here, I will share it with my friends, colleagues, and loved ones and do it as a team" Kevin says.
He was eager to get back to his family and his home country. He was very grateful for the opportunity, but he definitely missed his family and the food in Sierra Leone.
Kelvin keeps moving forward to improve his skills and help his country. "My next invention will be a windmill for people to use for electricity", Kevin says confidently :)
Watch the video - it's really an inspirational story. Everyone can help inspiring youths by sharing the video and helping out non-profits that help youths!
The Good World News Team is really looking forward to seeing more inventions from Kelvin Doe and to see more youths doing amazing things!
Peace & Love,
Jon
- The Good World News
Serena and Venus headed to Africa this week to inspire kids in Nigeria. They went to a private club on Ikoyi Island to play tennis with some of the locals. Hopefully they'll make it to some of the more rural areas to play with the kids as well!
The two sisters have come far in their careers to become two of the top tennis players in the world. They have proven that anything is possible for anyone. "We were able to break the mold in a sport that was really dominated by white people ... it doesn't matter what your background is and where you come from. If you have dreams, if you have goals, that's all that really matters."
"We're looking forward to being inspired by the young women in Nigeria and also to inspire them as well. It's a two-way street. We can learn so much from each other," Venus told the governor.
Peace & Love,
Jon
- The Good World News
Maud Chifamba is showing that with enough determination, you can accomplish ANYTHING. At the age of 14, she is the youngest person to attend university in not only Zimbabwe, but all of southern Africa!
It wasn't easy getting to this point. Born on November 19th 1997, she was raised in a poor family that had a farm as their only source of income. She lost her father at the age of five and her mother last year. It was only her and two brothers who were left to take care of themselves and the farm. She says that her parents' passing caused her to work extremely hard. "It really motivated me to work harder because there was no one to take care of me except myself in the future. That was ... a motivator for me to have something to do with my life."
Her brothers couldn't afford to pay for her formal schooling so Maud had to study on her own. She would spend hours and hours every night studying and learning the material on her own. Her immense studies paid off - she skipped 4th and 5th grades and went straight to 6th. She aced her proficiency exams all through school. Maud blew right through the Advanced Level Exams which earned her entrance to the University of Zimbabwe with a $10,000 scholarship!!
After one week of school, Maud is having a good time. "I'm really enjoying it. It's better than what I expected. I'm just enjoying all the lectures." Her dream job is to become an accountant. The Good World News team knows that she will get there!
Keep up the great work Maud! Your story is very inspiring!! Keep up the wonderful work :)
Peace & Love,
Jon
The Good World News
Emmanuelle Chriqui, aka "Sloan" (for all of you Entourage fans), is showing the world that there is a very large heart along with that big smile of hers. She has taken many steps to help stop the violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Since the "Second Congo War" began in 1998, 5.4 million lives have been lost. Violence continues in spite of peace accords in 2003. A war that once began for political reasons has now turned to fighting for money. As with many African countries, outside countries take advantage of the weak nation and the civilians end up getting hurt.
The Good News is that people like Emmanuelle are starting to make an impact. She has teamed up with the JewelMint group to curate the "Mumbai Bracelet". Chriqui donates 50% of the jewelery proceeds to "Raise Hope for Congo", a campaign by the Enough Project which aims to end the human rights violations in the Congo. Emmanuelle also signed a petition at Change.org urging Apple CEO, Tim Cook, to make an Apple product that uses conflict-free minerals from eastern Congo. The petition currently has over 67,000 signatures! Emmanuelle frequently speaks out on the topic to raise awareness.
As technology continues to connect each part of the world together, the beautiful Earth that we live on becomes smaller and smaller. Every choice that we make can easily affect many others. It is so so beautiful to know that there are good & genuine people that truly want to make this a better place to live in. Each and every one of us can make that difference in someone's life.
Thank you Emmanuelle for helping the wonderful people in the Congo and for inspiring others to follow suit!
Peace & Love,
Jon
The Good World News
Standing at 7 ft 6 inches, Yao Ming, the former NBA star from China is a rarity with respect to height. Yao Ming is now protecting another increasingly rare population - rhinos and elephants. He is using his fame and big heart to convince his fellow Chinese citizens and the rest of the world to stop purchasing rhino horns and ivory from elephants.
Most efforts to stop the killing of these beautiful animals focuses on protecting them from poachers. Yao Ming is taking a different approach which attempts to stop the demand of ivory and rhino horns. According to Laura Walubengo of Kenya radio's CapitalFM, "China is the world's most prominent destination for rhino horn and ivory, whith projections suggesting there will be an added 250 million middle class consumers over the next 10 to 15 years".
Populations are dwindling -There are only 400,000 elephants and only seven white rhinos are left in the world. With an average size rhino horn earning a poacher an average of $250,000, it seems as if there is not much hope. Fortunately, Yao Ming is helping the conservationists bring worldwide attention to this issue. This attention is needed in his homeland of China, and Yao Ming knows it. This is why he is not only giving wide spread attention through interviews, but he is also creating a documentary about it!
Yao Ming observes elephants. Image Credit: Kristian Schmidt for WildAid, via yaomingblog.com
With images as awesome as this, we have no doubt that his documentary will be a worldwide success! Yao Ming takes it a step further by creating a blog about his adventures in Africa: http://yaomingblog.com/
Yao Ming face to face with an endangered rhino.
In his blog, Yao Ming jokes: "These are immense and powerful creatures. As one of them pushes me, I’m reminded of the immense pressure I used to feel when I had to guard Shaquille O’Neal. You knew that pressure while guarding Shaq, and you know it when a rhino leans on you."
Yao Ming's work will truly help protect the lives of these beautiful animals. Thank you Yao Ming!! Good World News is looking forward to watching your documentary. The world is grateful for everything that you have done!
Peace & Love,
Jon
- The Good World News
A new monkey has been discovered in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This is the second new monkey species discovered in the past 28 years. Let's be clear on the term "discovery". As with many of these discoveries, the locals have always known about the species. This is the first time that it has been discovered and classified by outside scientists.
The scientists are calling it "Cercopithecus Lomamiensis", but the local name, "Lesula", is much easier to pronounce and remember :). John Hart, one of the leading scientists said, "We never expected to find a new species there, but the Lomami basin is a very large block that has had very little exploration by biologists."
How was it discovered by the scientists? They were made a routine stop in a village in Opala and saw the monkey on a leash. It was the local school director's pet. "Right away I saw that this was something different. It looked a bit like a monkey from much further east, but the coloring was so different and the range was so different," said John Hart.
The scientists hope the discovery will help spark interest in protecting the forests and lands in the area.
Peace & Love,
Jon
- The Good World News